April 14th, 2023

Life Sciences BC seeks to raise the profile of our members and supporters, highlight their achievements, and promote BC's dynamic life sciences ecosystem. If you have news or a story to share, let us know.

Pfizer Canada Initiates Submission to Health Canada for its Bivalent Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Vaccine

Pfizer Canada ULC announced that Health Canada has accepted for review the New Drug Submission for its bivalent Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccine. The vaccine is currently under review for the prevention of lower respiratory tract disease and severe lower respiratory tract disease caused by RSV in infants from birth through six months of age by active immunization of pregnant individuals, and the prevention of acute respiratory disease and lower respiratory tract disease caused by RSV in individuals 60 years of age and older by active immunization...READ MORE

Bold Therapeutics to Present Best-in-Class Phase 2 Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Data at AACR 2023

Bold Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing first-in-class oncology therapeutics, announced that it will present two posters – a clinical poster (#CT149) and a translational research poster (#2259) – at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2023 on April 14 – 19, 2023 in Orlando, Florida...READ MORE

Aspect Biosystems and Novo Nordisk Enter Partnership to Develop Bioprinted Tissue Therapeutics for Diabetes and Obesity

Aspect Biosystems and Novo Nordisk A/S announced a collaboration, development, and licence agreement to develop bioprinted tissue therapeutics designed to replace, repair, or supplement biological functions inside the body with the aim of delivering a new class of truly disease-modifying treatments for diabetes and obesity

• Partnership will leverage Aspect’s proprietary bioprinting technology and Novo Nordisk’s expertise and technology in stem cell differentiation and cell therapy development and manufacturing.
• Aspect to receive 75 million US dollars in initial payments and up to 650 million dollars in future milestone payments per product arising from the collaboration, plus tiered royalties...READ MORE

ESSA Pharma Announces Clinical Trial Support Agreement with Janssen to Evaluate EPI-7386 Combinations in Patients with Prostate Cancer

ESSA Pharma Inc., a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on developing novel therapies for the treatment of prostate cancer, announced that the Company has entered into a clinical trial support agreement with Janssen Research & Development, LLC to enable evaluation of ESSA’s first-in-class N-terminal domain androgen receptor inhibitor, EPI-7386, in combination with apalutamide as well as the combination of EPI-7386 with abiraterone acetate plus prednisone in patients with prostate cancer...READ MORE

Genome BC Announces $1M in Funding to Support the Advancement of Medical Research and Patient Care for British Columbians

Genome British Columbia (Genome BC) has announced $1M in funding to support four unique projects aimed at enabling discoveries to address unmet clinical healthcare needs through its Data Access, Integration and Analysis program. This funding will benefit the BC health system by allowing researchers to analyze genomic data in conjunction with clinical health and imaging data. Combining these data sources has the potential to unlock new discoveries and improve patient care...READ MORE

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Announces New and Refined Method of Use Patent for LUPKYNIS® in the Treatment of Lupus Nephritis Issued by United States Patent and Trademark Office

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced that the USPTO has issued a new and refined method of use patent titled IMPROVED PROTOCOL FOR TREATMENT OF LUPUS NEPHRITIS. Aurinia’s newly issued U.S. Patent (No. 11,622,991) reflects the unique and proprietary dosing regimen of its currently marketed product, LUPKYNIS. Specifically, this patent further refines the method of using LUPKYNIS in combination with mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) and corticosteroids using eGFR as a method of pharmacodynamically dosing the product in patients with lupus nephritis...READ MORE

Chinook Therapeutics Announces Voluntary Pause in Dosing of CHK-336 in Ongoing Phase 1 Clinical Trial in Healthy Volunteers

Chinook Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of precision medicines for kidney diseases, announced that dosing in the phase 1 clinical trial of CHK-336 in healthy volunteers has been voluntarily paused to allow a thorough investigation of a serious adverse event (SAE) that occurred in a single subject following the first dose in the 125 mg multiple ascending dose (MAD) group. Dosing was halted per trial protocol when the event occurred, followed by a voluntary pausing of the trial by Chinook to enable further investigation...READ MORE

Numinus Launches new Clinic Licensing Platform, the Numinus Network, to Accelerate Expansion

Numinus Wellness Inc., a mental health care company advancing innovative treatments and safe, evidence-based psychedelic-assisted therapies, announced that it has launched a new clinic licensing model, named the Numinus Network, offering independent practitioners the opportunity to own and operate their own clinic under the trusted Numinus Wellness brand through a licensing and services arrangement...READ MORE

PharmAla Biotech and Filament Health Announce Release of GMP MDMA Capsules

PharmAla Biotech Holdings Inc., a Canadian biotechnology company dedicated to the research and development of clinical-grade LaNeo™ MDMA and novel MDXX compounds, and Filament Health Corp., a clinical-stage natural psychedelic drug development company, announced the GMP release of MDMA capsules at the Metro Vancouver facility operated by Filament’s subsidiary Psilo Scientific...READ MORE

NervGen Pharma Appoints Michael Kelly as President & Chief Executive Officer

NervGen Pharma Corp., a clinical stage biotech company dedicated to developing innovative solutions for the treatment of nervous system damage, announced the appointment of Mr. Michael Kelly to the position of President & CEO effective April 10, 2023. Mr. Kelly has also been appointed as a member of NervGen’s Board of Directors...READ MORE

Vertex Announces Health Canada Market Authorization for ORKAMBI® (lumacaftor/ivacaftor) in Children With Cystic Fibrosis Ages 1 to <2 Years

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Canada) Incorporated announced that Health Canada, as a partner of the Access Consortium, has granted Marketing Authorization for the expanded use of PrORKAMBI® (lumacaftor/ivacaftor) for the treatment of cystic fibrosis (CF) in children ages 1 to <2 years who have two copies of the F508del mutation in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene...READ MORE

Zymeworks Announces Appointment of Derek J. Miller to its Board of Directors

Zymeworks Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel, multifunctional biotherapeutics, announced the appointment of Derek J. Miller to its board of directors effective April 10, 2023. Mr. Miller brings extensive commercial, corporate and business development, and senior leadership experience in oncology to the Zymeworks board of directors...READ MORE

Aequus Announces Financing to Support Launch of Zimed® Preservative – Free (Bimatoprost 0.03%) and Board Update

Aequus Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced it has entered into a loan agreement to raise $500,000 to support the launch of Zimed® PF. Mr. Doug Janzen, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, will provide financing to Aequus by way of an unsecured demand loan of C$500,000 (the “Loan”). The Loan bears interest at an annual rate of two and a half percent (2.5%) to be calculated and repaid monthly and is repayable on demand...READ MORE

Takeda Announces Results from Phase 4 Vedolizumab Study in Patients with Chronic Pouchitis Published in New England Journal of Medicine

Takeda Canada Inc. announce the positive data from the Phase 4 EARNEST study of vedolizumab for the treatment of chronic pouchitis has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). The NEJM article is titled “Vedolizumab for the Treatment of Chronic Pouchitis”

• The Phase 4 EARNEST study met its primary efficacy endpoint of remission of chronic or recurrent pouchitis at Week 14, with 31% of participants receiving vedolizumab achieving remission versus 10% receiving placebo...READ MORE

Abbott Recalls the Readers used with the FreeStyle Libre, FreeStyle Libre 14 day, and FreeStyle Libre 2 Flash Glucose Monitoring Systems for Risk of Extreme Heat and Fire

On April 12, 2023, the FDA added information for patients about Abbott’s April 2023 Medical Device Correction letter. If you are not experiencing problems with the Abbott provided Reader and you have the Abbott provided USB cable and power adapter, you can continue to use the Abbott provided Reader, USB cable, and power adapter.

A medical device recall means a firm’s removal or correction of a medical device. In this case, the firm is correcting the product labeling and not physically removing all the readers as part of this recall...READ MORE

Benoit Larose Named BIOQuébec’s Executive Director

BIOQuébec’s board of directors is proud to announce that Benoit Larose has been named its executive director, effective May 1, 2023. Mr. Larose has over thirty-five years of experience in the life sciences sector. He has worked in R&D, manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of medical supplies and devices, diagnostic products, and pharmaceuticals and is a seasoned business development and corporate finance professional. Having worked for Canadian and international companies of all sizes, Mr. Larose has a wealth of experience and a comprehensive network within both the industry and Canada’s ecosystem. He holds an MBA from the HEC Montréal business school...READ MORE

Philips Respironics Recalls Certain Reworked DreamStation CPAP, BiPAP Machines for the Risk They May Deliver Inaccurate or Insufficient Therapy

The FDA has identified this as a Class I recall, the most serious type of recall. Use of these devices may cause serious injuries or death.

• Product Name: Philips Respironics DreamStation1 (Uno Remediated Devices)
• Product Models: REP DreamStation Auto CPAP Recert, DreamStation Auto, FR REP DreamStation Auto BiPAP, DOM-RECRT, and REP DreamStation Auto CPAP, DOM – RECRT
• Serial Numbers: See Medical Device Recall Database
• Distribution Dates: December 1, 2021 to October 31, 2022
• Devices Recalled in the U.S.: 1,088
• Date Initiated by Firm: February 10, 2023...READ MORE

Associate Scientist – Molecular Analytics (Contract)

Amgen British Columbia are looking for a highly motivated scientist to join the CRADI-Molecular Analytics team. The successful candidate will work with cross functional teams to thoroughly characterize both reagent and therapeutic protein candidates using various analytical techniques to support Amgen’s early phase discovery programs.

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Coordinator, Lab

Zymeworks is seeking a Lab Coordinator to work full-time on-site in the Vancouver facility. The Lab Coordinator works closely with research staff to maintain an efficient and well-organized laboratory. Experience required is a bachelor in Natural or Health Sciences and up to two years of related experience in a laboratory environment or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

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Scientist, Antibody Discovery and Engineering

Zymeworks is seeking a Scientist to join the Antibody Discovery and Engineering group (ADE) within the ADC Therapeutic Development department. The ADE group is responsible for the discovery of therapeutic antibodies against tumor-associated antigens for the treatment of cancer, encompassing antibody generation, humanization, formatting/engineering and functional characterization, on the path towards generating Antibody Drug Conjugate (ADC) therapeutics.



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Filament Health is a clinical-stage natural psychedelic drug development company. Filament believes that safe, standardized, naturally-derived psychedelic medicines can improve the lives of many, and their mission is to see them in the hands of everyone who needs them as soon as possible. Filament’s platform of proprietary intellectual property enables the discovery, development, and delivery of natural psychedelic medicines. Filament is paving the way with the first-ever natural psychedelic drug candidates.

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Bold Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharma company based in Vancouver, British Columbia founded in 2018 to develop and commercialize BOLD-100, a first-in-class metallotherapeutic being developed for the treatment of advanced cancers.

Based on compelling preclinical and early clinical results, Bold Therapeutics is focusing its clinical development efforts on some of the most challenging indications where existing therapies are largely ineffective, resulting in a significant unmet medical need.

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